Hideo Kojima reveals PHYSINT was canceled by PlayStation before Xbox saved it

Hideo Kojima has revealed that PlayStation unexpectedly canceled PHYSINT, but Xbox has swooped in to save the day.

PHYSINT was first announced in January 2024 as a brand-new IP from Kojima Productions and a return to the action-espionage genre that Hideo Kojima is best known for through the Metal Gear series.

The game was supposed to be published by Sony, just like Death Stranding and its sequel. However, the legendary developer has revealed that Sony pulled the plug earlier this year.

Sony "unexpectedly" canceled Kojima's Metal Gear successor

“As confirmed earlier through our official channels, in mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT project,” he said in a statement posted on X.

Kojima described PHYSINT as important both to himself and his studio, and said the team was determined not to abandon it. Instead, the developer spent the following three months searching for another company willing to get involved.

https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/2097877506401681753?s=20

That search has ended with Xbox, which announced on September 9 that it will publish the action-espionage title as part of an expanded partnership with Kojima Productions. The two companies were already working together on OD.

“Please rest assured that development of PHYSINT, our genre-defining action-espionage title, is ongoing and will continue moving forward,” he added.

Xbox confirmed the new arrangement in its own announcement, with CEO Asha Sharma saying the company was “honored” Kojima had chosen it as PHYSINT's new partner. "His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at XBOX,” she said.

PlayStation also provided an update, explaining that despite the cancelation, it still plans on working with Kojima in the future.

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2097875212427735146?s=20

"We continue to have great admiration for Hideo Kojima's vision for the game," the company said in a tweet. "Our relationship remains strong after three decades of industry-leading, genre-defining creative cooperation, and we look forward to continued close collaboration with Hideo Kojima and his award-winning independent studio in the future."

As mentioned, the Xbox and Kojima are already partnered on OD: Knock, the upcoming horror game, which is set to be so scary that the devs have had to come up with a plan for players who are too frightened.